TULARE (CA)
KFSN
March 5, 2018
On Monday morning, Tulare County Presiding Judge Gary Paden made it perfectly clear to Ignacio Villafan that he wants him to start making some money immediately.
He wants Villafan to repay St. Rita’s Catholic Church in Tulare, where he was pastor from 2005 to 2012. Father Villafan is charged with stealing more than $300,000 from the church during that time.
Villafan’s attorney says his client’s no contest plea on Monday was a way to avoid a possibly stiffer sentence at trial but is not an admission of guilt.
“I know the allegation is that he took much from the church but I think what’s been overlooked here is that he put much into the church,” said attorney Victor Perez.
Monday was supposed to be another segment of Villafan’s ongoing preliminary hearing, which has been spread out over several months. The case is complex and has required a review of thousands of pages of documents.
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